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- Record Label: Border Community
- Release Date: Nov 3, 2017
- Artist(s): James Holden
- Summary: The latest release for electronic artist James Holden was recorded with his band The Animal Spirits in single takes.
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- Record Label: Border Community
- Genre(s): Electronic, Club/Dance
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 13 out of 15
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Mixed: 2 out of 15
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Negative: 0 out of 15
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Oct 30, 2017While it's a million miles from the techno of Holden’s earlier career, its rhythms and hooks are infectious. The Animal Spirits is, put frankly, one of the most complex, immersive and impressive albums of the year.
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Nov 7, 2017The record is a lot of things and also unquestionably not, for the most part embodying an impregnable and extraordinary soundscape that fortifies itself against deconstruction, but its one truly distinctive quality is that it’s the precise opposite of boring.
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MojoOct 30, 2017A bewitching brew of experimental jazz, droning electronics and raw, progressive rock. [Dec 2017, p.87]
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Q MagazineOct 30, 2017Fans of his early output will continue to wonder why he's forsaken immaculate prog house so completely: those up for the trip, conversely, will just be keen to know where he's headed next. [Dec 2017, p.108]
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Nov 6, 2017Simultaneously more overtly experimental yet more easily accessible - even the most cacophonous warble here is rooted in strong melodies--than Holden's past output, The Animal Spirits is a triumph that makes rigidly electronic textures seem so last year.
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Dec 11, 2017Overall, The Animal Spirits feels very organic, brought about by the spontaneity of the performances, the brief window of time in which it was recorded, and Holden's own evolutionary arc. It also offers a glimpse into the deeper corners of his psyche, peeling back another layer to reveal just how colorful his imagination can be.
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Nov 2, 2017These soundscapes require a Pharoah Sanders-style voyager who can fly us into stratospheric realms, but unfortunately, Etienne Jaumet’s solos just splutter along the runway without ever achieving lift-off.
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